One of the largest underdogs for 360 get's a fair take from a critical gamer. This game delivers. So what are you doing sitting at your desk reading this? Kill something today.
Memorable scenes such as Angelina naked and keyboard keys spelling out "F**K YOU" across the screen are not here. What remains though is hawtness and action, with enough replay to have you gunning for at least another 3 play-throughs.
The game starts out exactly where the film left off. Or seemingly so. Wesley is pissed and now wants to exact his revenge against the Fraternity on a more global scale. He takes the fight cross country and overseas to the "go to" guys that created the problem with him and his father to begin with. You will learn why his father went rogue, and where the corruption began. Also, you will even have a few chances to play as his father to see what really went down from his point of view, and in turn, you will experience why he was so revered because of his skills. While the game is somewhat short (anywhere from 3-6 hours) it feels like you're playing a more action intense version of a true sequel.
Starting out, you will slowly gain use of all your necessary powers and each time you learn another, you are ported into a quick "training" session reminiscent of the film. The learning curve is only as hard as you are dim-witted. The controls, quick "snap" into position cover system, and response to collision are exactly what a 3rd person shooter of this generation should feel like. Think more "Gears of War" and less "Army of Two" with a dash of "Matt Hazard". The bullet time and curving system have their cinematic bonus with each successful kill shot; however, at a certain point it can become slightly grievous if you're not obsessive compulsive. You attain moderate weapon upgrades just when you need them, and even a small offer of a new skin/suit to change the aesthetics.
The voice acting is nice, and some of Wesley's responses to context sensitive scenes are just outright hilarious. Sure it's no keyboard to the face, but it certainly holds its own without being too frivolous. While some gamers might get slightly annoyed by the cinematic simplicity of many quick time portions of a game *cough* (God of War 3) *cough*, the ones in this game will make you pay attention and give you slightly more interaction than what you typically expect. For instance you'll be shooting bullets midair while timing those perfectly acrobatic twists and jumps with the flick of a button and twist of a directional stick. Then there's the melee combat. Again, as with some of the cinematic response typical to the curved bullet kills, these too are tedious. So save yourself and perform maybe just one per level so you don't get so knocked out by the same 3 animations.
Overall the cut scenes leave A LOT to be desired and leave you feeling like you just watched a standard definition Playstation scene on Youtube. But with the current standard of actual gameplay graphics intact, all is forgiven.
So now for the GOODIES!
Cheats galore leave you with plenty to look forward to if you're so pro that you just beat the game in 2 hours on extreme difficulty in your first run. A multitude of skins (even one of fat Janice...Wesley's boss from the film...which is oddly fulfilling to play as), health, ammo, guns, and even an extra story level.
So if you liked the film and/or comic book, you will most likely get your rocks off during the final credits (which also played in the hit film). And if you haven't seen it, well...take it for what it is. A sequel made just for your console. You should feel special, Hollywood gave you just a wee bit more that they couldn't fit onto the big screen.
